Richard Siegert1, Lucy Selman2, Irene J Higginson2, Zippy Ali3, Richard A Powell4, Eve Namisango5, Faith Mwangi-Powell6, Liz Gwyther7, Nancy Gikaara5, Richard Harding8. 1. Department of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. 2. Department of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, King's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, London, United Kingdom. 3. Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association, Nairobi, Kenya. 4. HealthCare Chaplaincy, New York, New York, USA. 5. African Palliative Care Association, Kampala, Uganda. 6. Open Society Foundations, New York, New York, USA. 7. Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa; The School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 8. Department of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, King's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: ea-richardharding@kcl.ac.uk.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Although sub-Saharan Africa suffers the greatest burden of progressive illness, there are few outcome measures with adequate properties to measure needs and outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To examine the psychometric properties of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care (FACIT-Pal) among people receiving palliative care in three African countries. METHODS: Adult patients in South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda gave self-reported data to the core FACIT-G plus Pal subscale. Data were subjected to factor analysis, corrected item-total correlations, and Cronbach's α for full scale and subscales. RESULTS: The resulting four factors bear a strong similarity to the original Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General in our sample of 461: physical symptoms, functional well-being, friends and family, and emotional well-being. Cronbach's α for the full 27-item scale was 0.90 and for the physical well-being, social/family well-being, emotional well-being, and functional well-being subscales, it was 0.83, 0.78, 0.80, and 0.87, respectively. Varimax rotation of the 19-item FACIT-Pal scale showed three clear interpretable factors. Factor 1, a sense of purpose and meaning in life; Factor 2, physical symptoms; and Factor 3, social integration. For the 19-item FACIT-Pal, Cronbach's α was 0.81, and individual corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.24 to 0.61. Cronbach's α for the eight items comprising Factor 1 (meaning in life) was 0.83. For the other two factors, it was 0.70 (physical symptoms, six items) and 0.68 (social integration, three items). CONCLUSION: The FACIT-Pal is a reliable multidimensional scale for people with life-limiting incurable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, and the observed factors are interpretable and clinically meaningful.
CONTEXT: Although sub-Saharan Africa suffers the greatest burden of progressive illness, there are few outcome measures with adequate properties to measure needs and outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To examine the psychometric properties of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care (FACIT-Pal) among people receiving palliative care in three African countries. METHODS: Adult patients in South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda gave self-reported data to the core FACIT-G plus Pal subscale. Data were subjected to factor analysis, corrected item-total correlations, and Cronbach's α for full scale and subscales. RESULTS: The resulting four factors bear a strong similarity to the original Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General in our sample of 461: physical symptoms, functional well-being, friends and family, and emotional well-being. Cronbach's α for the full 27-item scale was 0.90 and for the physical well-being, social/family well-being, emotional well-being, and functional well-being subscales, it was 0.83, 0.78, 0.80, and 0.87, respectively. Varimax rotation of the 19-item FACIT-Pal scale showed three clear interpretable factors. Factor 1, a sense of purpose and meaning in life; Factor 2, physical symptoms; and Factor 3, social integration. For the 19-item FACIT-Pal, Cronbach's α was 0.81, and individual corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.24 to 0.61. Cronbach's α for the eight items comprising Factor 1 (meaning in life) was 0.83. For the other two factors, it was 0.70 (physical symptoms, six items) and 0.68 (social integration, three items). CONCLUSION: The FACIT-Pal is a reliable multidimensional scale for people with life-limiting incurable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, and the observed factors are interpretable and clinically meaningful.
Authors: Myrick C Shinall; E Wesley Ely; Mohana Karlekar; Samuel G Robbins; Rameela Chandrasekhar; Sara F Martin Journal: Am J Hosp Palliat Care Date: 2018-03-12 Impact factor: 2.500
Authors: Estefanía Moldón-Ballesteros; Inés Llamas-Ramos; Jose Ignacio Calvo-Arenillas; Olaia Cusi-Idigoras; Rocío Llamas-Ramos Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-08-29 Impact factor: 4.614